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If you're ready to trade overwhelm for clarity, you're in the right place. I'm your tech-savvy sidekick sharing web design, digital tools, and mindset tips to help you live with purpose. Stay a while!
Ever feel like your to-do list is endless, and your brain is juggling 46 open tabs at once? Guilty! If you’re a busy mom or stepmom trying to manage school drop-offs, work tasks, dinner plans, self-care, and maybe your dreams too, then it’s no wonder life feels overwhelming and you want to get organized.
In this post, I’ll walk you through exactly how I use Google Calendar to organize every part of my life, so I feel more in control, less scattered, and way more intentional. Whether you’re brand new to digital calendars or looking for the best way to get organized with Google Calendar, this post will help you reclaim your time and your sanity.
Why Google Calendar is My Secret Weapon for Feeling in Control
Here’s something I assume about you: you have a Gmail account. If I’m wrong, then I highly recommend signing up for one. Having a Google account is my lifeline. I house everything there, from documents and photos to my Calendar (obviously).
Google Calendar allows you to sync across any device you use to enter your Gmail account. It’s always accessible, which makes it the best calendar app for moms who are always on the go. Being able to always get access stops the “what was I supposed to do again?” spiral.
As I mentioned, it’s free to use, and easy to search and navigate. I also enjoy how customizable it is. We’ll get to color coding in a moment, but as an aesthetic girl, you can’t beat the visually appealing look of a perfectly organized Google Calendar layout.
My Life Categories & Color Coding System
After you have created a Google Calendar account, my next recommendation is categorizing your life digitally. Categorizing my Calendar helps me mentally declutter by getting everything out of my head and into my phone, which I always have with me. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably bought a cute planner with good intentions, only to find yourself not using it after two weeks. That’s why I made the switch to life planning with Google Calendar.
How to Create Multiple Calendars
To categorize your life, you will need to make multiple calendars in your Google Calendar account. This will help you sort and view different areas of your life without confusion or overwhelm.
How to Create Multiple Categories in Google Calendar:
Open Google Calendar on a desktop.
Click the gear icon, then click ‘Settings’
On the left-hand side, click ‘Add Calendar’
Click ‘Create a new calendar’
Enter a Name for your Calendar and click ‘Create calendar’
Repeat steps 1-5 for all of the categories you’d like
If you aren’t sure what type of categories you’d like to create, you can see examples of mine below and customize them to your liking.
My Life Categories:
Personal (my activities & appointments)
Birthdays
Health (gym, walks, chiropractor & doctor appointments)
Lifestyle content calendar (content tasks for @lifebysarahhawk account)
Tasks (Google task reminders)
Web design by Sarah Hawk (work tasks for @bysarahhawk web design biz)
Hawk Family Calendar (family events & activities)
Kids (one for each of the kids’ school & daycare activities)
How to Choose Color Codes
I know you love things to look beautiful and organized, so color coding your calendars is essential to you. That way, you don’t feel overwhelmed by everything you put into your Calendar. Here’s how to change the colors for your calendars.
First, decide whether you will pick calming or energizing colors. I suggest visiting Pinterest for color palette inspiration or using this website to choose a color palette. This way, you will ensure your Calendar feels organized rather than overwhelming every time you open it.
Now you can create color-coded calendar events for everything going on in your life and everyone’s life that you manage. If you need help determining what matters for each of your calendars, the following section discusses time blocking, a strategy that can help you manage your tasks effectively.
Time Blocking 101
Time blocking has gotten a lot of attention in recent years, and for good reason. It’s a simple way to organize your time into blocks. Time blocking means grouping similar tasks into calendar “blocks”.
Did you know that task switching, when you move from one task to another, uses up more mental energy? Researchers found that, based on a study from the University of California, Irvine, it takes about 23 minutes for your brain to refocus after moving from one task to another. What a waste, right?! That’s why time blocking can be so beneficial for your mental clarity and create fewer decision-fatigue moments (aka asking you to make decisions about what to do and not do). Especially as moms, we have enough to decide; time blocking can take some of these decisions off your plate.
Time blocking is also beneficial for aligning your guiding posts with what you spend your time on. A quote I heard once said, “Where your mind goes, your energy flows.” So, if you create specific time blocks for you to focus on similar tasks, you’ll likely feel more aligned and less fatigued with your life, and that’s the ultimate goal.
Here’s the thing: productivity experts often have unrealistic expectations of what time blocking should look like. Your Calendar should work for you. Below is an example of a time-blocking schedule; however, please tailor it to your specific needs and circumstances. You won’t get to where you want to go by copying someone else’s routine.
Example of a Weekday Time Block (as a working mom):
5:00-6:30 AM: Workout (drink water, go to gym, workout)
Using Calendar Reminders & Recurring Tasks to Reduce Mental Clutter
When I first started time blocking, I would put everything, like the example above, into my schedule. However, as someone who clocks in Monday through Friday, I don’t need a reminder to go to work and do my day job. I have adapted time blocking for myself by creating more reminders related to my family’s life & appointments, side business, and content creation. I enjoy using recurring reminders and tasks to minimize mental clutter and establish a sense of structure in these areas. Below, I’ve included another example of a time-blocking schedule for this purpose.
Example of recurring reminders and tasks I use (as a stepmom/ mom, side biz owner, and content creator):
Daily:
8:30 AM: Daily check-in (phone reminder with my guiding posts)
12:00-12:30 PM: Post on social media
8:30-9:00 PM: Content Planning (flex time: create future social media posts, record videos, or write posts)
9:00 PM: Daily check-in reminder (phone reminder to review my day + how I felt)
Saturdays:
9:00-11:00 AM: Deep Work (client work)
Sundays:
All Day Event: On week / off week with my stepson
How to Set Recurring Tasks and Reminders
Using recurring tasks and reminders helps me automate things that are part of my schedule and require less mental work. We share custody and have an on-week and off-week arrangement with my stepson. Having a recurring reminder to let us look ahead helps us make plans accordingly. I also have recurring reminders on Saturdays to let my husband know that I will be unavailable in the mornings while I’m working with clients. (Having a shared calendar is so helpful for this!)
How to Set Up Recurring Tasks:
Click ‘+ Create’ and select ‘Task’
Add title
Click on the date and time, and change the dropdown menu from ‘Does not repeat’ to ‘Daily’
Change the time of the reminder
Click Save
Now, Google Calendar will send you a push notification about the task. When it pops up on your phone, smart watch, desktop, or tablet, you can click on it and mark it ‘Complete’.
Integrating Family, Work, and Personal Life Without the Chaos
One of the best decisions my husband and I made when we first got engaged was creating a joint Google Mail account. We used it for wedding planning, which made everything so much simpler– I highly recommend this! Since then, we have used it for family purposes, such as paying bills, accessing school information, and scheduling doctor appointments. No more asking, “When is that appointment?”
How to Create a Shared Calendar for Families:
On the lefthand sidebar, Under Other calendars click ‘+’ then click ‘Subscribe to calendar’
Enter the Gmail address to add Calendar
Change the Name or any settings you wish (ie, if you get notified for changes via email)
Pro Tip: In Calendar settings, under Event notifications, adjust the notification time to 30 minutes so you know about events ahead of time.
Bonus Tips That Make Google Calendar Work FOR You
Your Calendar is to help you stay organized and feel less overwhelmed, so make it work for you.
Fun Ways to Personalize Your Google Calendar:
Use emojis in calendar events to visually categorize
Add links in event notes (URL, to-do list, confirmation number)
Toggle calendars on/off when you need to focus or simplify the view
Add daily “check-ins” to review your guiding posts for the day
How This Calendar Method Changed My Life
As busy moms, employees, spouses, and women pursuing our own goals, we have a few things on our plates, I’d say. When I became a stepmom at 22, I was flying by the seat of my pants because, well, I could. I only had to plan for myself. That quickly changed when trying to organize coparenting schedules and adulting. I needed a system that helped me feel just a bit more in control, and paper planners weren’t doing the trick. I’m an avid tech user, so I turned to Google Calendar to help me organize everything.
After ditching my planner and committing to adding everything to Google Calendar, I switched from feeling chaotic to clear.
Now, seven years into using digital planning with Google Calendar, I feel less guilty about downtime and more energetic because I’m not constantly reacting to it. There’s no more surprise dentist appointments or missed birthdays. I can finally see where I need space, and I create it on purpose. Using Google Calendar to organize your life can help you gain the control you’re seeking. What’s one thing you’re putting off that you could block time for today? I’d love to know. Leave a comment below or send me a DM over on Instagram @lifebysarahhawk.
How You Can Start Organizing Your Life with Google Calendar Today
Step 1: Set up life categories (color-coded sub-calendars)
Step 2: Add recurring blocks for your non-negotiables
Step 3: Start small, get fancy later.
Step 4: Set a “daily check-in” time to reflect and adjust
Rooting for you,
Sarah
P.S. Download my Free Google Calendar Category Color Legend
Sarah Hawk is a Web Designer and tech educator in Rochester, MN who helps health and beauty business owners ditch tech overwhelm. With a background in teaching and pharmaceutical sales, she blends strategy, design, and education to help service providers launch websites that look professional, feel aligned, and support real business growth, without the confusion. When she’s not behind the computer, she loves aesthetic coffee shops, systems, strength training, and testing new recipes for her family.
Explore web design services and resources at bysarahhawk.com
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